The importance of male prenatal in the prevention and reduction of vertical transmission of sexually transmitted infections: a bibliographic review of the literature

Abstract

Objective: To demonstrate the importance of male prenatal care in preventing and reducing vertical transmission of Sexually Transmitted Infections. Methods: A research was carried out with a literature review and selection of scientific articles in the SCIELO and BVS digital libraries and in the electronic databases: LILACS and BDENF. Making use of the descriptors: “Prenatal care”, “Paternity” and “Men's Health”, using the Boolean operator “and”. Where the inclusion criteria were applied: full text available, Portuguese language and in the period from 2007 to 2020. Results: From the review carried out, 10 articles were selected in total, which focused on the importance of the father in prenatal care, correlated with Sexually Transmitted Infections, being considered a small finding, given the time interval of publications. It is noticeable through the results the relevance and the need for the father's participation in prenatal consultations; either to reduce the risks of vertical transmission due to recurrent reinfections, to the creation of a father-fetus bond. Final considerations: In this context, the father's participation is essential for the reduction of diseases related to sexually transmitted infections and the prevention and health promotion of the father-mother-child trinomial.